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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28222875">tell me all the ways to stay away</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/skai_heda/pseuds/skai_heda'>skai_heda</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>nephilim [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Shadow World Setting (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Angst, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, One Shot, canon divergent from yamaeib</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:20:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,168</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28222875</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/skai_heda/pseuds/skai_heda</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Suki can't love Sokka. Sokka can't love Suki. It's a simple issue that she suspects that neither of them could avoid in the end. </p><p>She thinks Zuko will change something. She doesn't expect that he'll change everything.</p><p>(a story from an alternate timeline in the nephilim verse)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Minor or Background Relationship(s), Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Suki/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>nephilim [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2000719</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>tell me all the ways to stay away</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>title is from black out days by phantogram !!</p><p>no beta we perish like jet</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Patrol with Zuko is easy. It’s relaxing. It’s a small haven from the storm she’s incited with Sokka. They're driving back to the Institute now, taking the long way as per her own request.</p><p>
  <em> Sokka. </em>
</p><p>She sighs, glancing sideways at Zuko. He looks lovely in the sun, she realizes, golden light illuminating his sharp, angular face. </p><p>
  <em> Why couldn't it have been you? Why couldn't I have fallen in love with you? It would have been so easy. None of this would happened to me and I wouldn't have almost died during patrol that night because of whatever punishment I'm getting for loving Sokka. </em>
</p><p>What if she tried, though? What if she tried to fall in love with Zuko? Maybe this would all stop, and she'd be safe, and Sokka would be safe...</p><p>But she'd be causing so much damage. She suspects that there's something going on between him and Katara, and she would be breaking Sokka's heart—</p><p>
  <em> Why would Sokka's heart be broken? He doesn't even love you. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> (but what if he does?) </em>
</p><p>"What's going on with you and Katara?"</p><p>He glances sideways at her, the wind from the rolled down window of the car lifting the dark strands of his hair. "What makes you ask?"</p><p>Suki shrugs, looking back to the road. "Things just seem different between you two. You guys are closer, spending a lot more time alone..."</p><p>Zuko snorts. "You and Sokka spend time alone, too."</p><p>Her heart sinks. "That's different."</p><p>"Right," he mutters. "Parabatai voodoo and all." Zuko's shoulders rise and fall with a silent sigh. "If you <em>have to </em>know, I—she—" He shakes his head. "She's just—I love her, Suki."</p><p>Suki's eyes widen. "You're telling me? Just like that?"</p><p>"I wouldn't tell anyone else that easily!" Zuko replies indignantly.</p><p>"Not Aang? Not even Sokka? Not Iroh?"</p><p>Zuko huffs. "Are you kidding? Aang might still have that gigantic crush on Katara, Sokka would punch me in the face, and you <em>know </em>Uncle Iroh already knows. Uncle Iroh would know even if I <em>didn't </em>tell him."</p><p>"Wow," Suki says. "That actually makes me feel special."</p><p>"You <em>are </em>special, Kee," Zuko says, with a tired sort of relief. She looks up then, at the small smile on his face.</p><p>"You're my best friend. I mean, I know I'm not your best friend because you have a parabatai—"</p><p>"You can have more than one best friend, genius," Suki says with a small smile. "You are my best friend."</p><p>Zuko nods to himself. "Okay. Yeah. I love her, and I don't know how to tell her. I mean, she's had a front row seat to almost every breakdown or moping session I've had over everything that's happened with my dad. I mean—" He glances sideways. "I told her how I got my scar first."</p><p>Suki blinks. "I thought she found out with the rest of us when you told us two years ago."</p><p>"She knew before," Zuko admits. "I mean, you remember how we hated each other before. But we had gotten into an argument about something stupid and somehow that lead to me telling her how it happened. And she was actually nice to me about it. It's the first time I ever felt like I understood her, and like she understood me. And eventually I trusted her enough to talk to her about my childhood, the same way she trusted me enough at some point to talk about hers. Before she met you, I mean. And she knows all about how my mom disappeared and everything with Azula and Ozai. And then Ozai started to gather support and establish a general agenda, Katara was there, helping me figure it all out. I mean, I can run an Institute just fine, but she's there to help me."</p><p>He shakes his head. "It's not that I love her just because she does stuff for me, you know? She's like—she's amazing. Katara's an amazing fighter, an extremely talented Shadowhunter. She's good at everything she does, honestly. I mean, sure. There's probably stuff that she isn't good at, but that doesn't matter to me. And she has this—compassion inside of her that I've rarely seen in anyone else. She looked at someone she hated and she looked right into the stuff that makes them up and she understood. And god, I love her for that. I love her for how inherently kind she is, and how she's there for not just me, but anyone whenever they need her and even when they think they don't."</p><p>Suki smiles, her heart aching at the way Zuko looks talking about Katara. Does she look like that when she talks about Sokka? "You've really got it bad, Zuko."</p><p>His laugh is soft. "I don't know why people say that when they see someone in love. I've got it <em>good, </em>honestly, loving someone like her."</p><p>"You don't worry that she won't feel the same?"</p><p>"Of course I do. But I think I might be able to live with it if she doesn't, as long as she's here and I'm here and we're together." He glances sideways at Suki. "I want her to love me back, of course I do. Even though I think she won't. But sometimes being able to have her in my life is enough."</p><p>
  <em>Could that be enough? To love Sokka from a million miles away?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>(it's wrong. something's wrong and you're not stupid, Suki. you see what's going on. you can feel it in your rune, you know something's wrong, you know you almost DIED—)</em>
</p><p>"You really think so?" Suki asks in a small voice.</p><p>Zuko's expression turns somber, losing some of its dreamlike quality. "Maybe." He looks at her for some time before looking back at the road. "You're in love with Sokka."</p><p>Suki stiffens in her seat, deciding whether she should deny it or not. But she thinks of the way Zuko's eyes looked so unguarded when he told her about Katara, and she relaxes in her seat, shoulders slumping in defeat. "How long have you known?"</p><p>Zuko drums his fingers against the wheel. "Two minutes. Well, if I think about it then I guess I might have known for a long time and just dismissed it as parabatai stuff. But talking about Katara—seeing your expression—" He shakes his head. "Did you know you have like, this specific look on your face when you think about him?"</p><p>Suki scoffs. "That's the stupidest, sappiest thing I've ever heard."</p><p>Zuko rolls his eyes. "Suki, come on. You <em>do </em>have that expression. I mean, I always knew you loved him. Everyone loves their parabatai. But when you got that look while I was spilling my guts about how completely and idiotically in love with Katara—it kind of clicked, I guess."</p><p>She stares ahead at the crowded highway. "I can't love him."</p><p>"I know."</p><p>"It's doing something to me," she admits, her voice so soft that she can barely hear it over the engine. </p><p>"What do you mean?"</p><p>Suki looks at Zuko. "On patrol, Sokka and I were—we were fighting these demons. It should've been easy. But ever since I started to realize how I felt about him—I don't know. Something started happening with my rune, and I nearly died that night because it felt like it was setting all of my bones on fire from the inside. I was feeling myself die, but he saved me. But my rune still hurts sometimes. It hurts so bad that I think I'll just die right there." She looks down at her hands. "Parabatai aren't supposed to fall in love. But I fell in love with mine, and I'm being punished." She closes her eyes. "And—I think Sokka feels the same. I can't prove it and I don't know why, but sometimes... sometimes I know."</p><p>"He does," Zuko replies softly. "He does."</p><p>"He <em>can't." </em>Suki leans back in her seat, tilting her head up. "And—I don't know what to do. I don't know."</p><p>Abruptly, Zuko takes a hand off the wheel and puts it on top of Suki's. "We'll figure something out. We always do, don't we?"</p><p>His hand, so warm and so familiar, almost covers hers entirely. His palms are rough, but his grip is gentle.</p><p>"Do you think we would lose feelings," she begins in a small voice, "if he saw me with someone else?"</p><p>
  <em>If he saw me with you?</em>
</p><p>Zuko's hand stiffens, but he doesn't move it away from hers. "That's not a case of <em>we. </em>That's just the question whether <em>he </em>will lose feelings. Unless you're saying that you'll somehow start to feel something for me, and w—"</p><p>"That won't happen," Suki says. "You're my best friend, alright? I don't like you that way. Besides, I know you and Katara are going to—"</p><p>"We aren't <em>going to </em>do anything," he says, moving his hand away from hers, and she suddenly misses the warmth, a little unsure why. </p><p>"I thought you said—"</p><p>"You know Katara's parents are dead, right?"</p><p>Suki nods. "Yeah."</p><p>"Yeah. What you don't know is that my father indirectly had a hand in it." Zuko glances from the road to her momentarily before looking ahead again. "Katara is my best friend, but nothing more is going to happen. And right now I think I love her in a way that weirdly enough makes me okay with that. As long as she's in my life, I mean." He sighs. "I love her so much, but I'm not an idiot. She won't love me back—not in the way I love her."</p><p>"Zuko."</p><p>"I'm not upset."</p><p>"I know, but—"</p><p>"I <em>know </em>what you're asking me to do," he says softly.</p><p>"I'm sorry," Suki blurts. "It's a huge thing to ask, especially when we both have feelings for other people."</p><p>"I think it would be a bigger thing if we <em>didn't </em>like other people," he says with a small, hesitant laugh. "Because then it's almost real."</p><p>"Yeah."</p><p>Zuko looks at her again, properly this time. "You know you're my best friend, right?"</p><p>"Yeah, I know," she answers.</p><p>"I'll do this for you," Zuko declares, swallowing. "Or—I'll try. I don't really know how this works. Or how serious you want this to be."</p><p>Suki's voice is strained when she speaks again. "I need him to know. I need him to believe that it's real."</p><p>His golden eyes are narrowed, his scar standing out harshly against his skin. "I can work with that."</p><p>Her heart sinks with a mixture of disappointment and relief. "Thank you."</p><p>Zuko looks away from her. "We'll be at the Institute soon."</p><p>"Okay."</p><p>They arrive home within a few minutes, leaving the car in the driveway for the next patrol rather than take it back into the garage. Zuko gets out first, allowing Suki a moment of reflection in the passenger seat.</p><p>
  <em>What am I doing?</em>
</p><p>The right thing. This way, no one loses anything. This way, she'll be fine and she'll stop hurting.</p><p>She just convinced Zuko into letting her try to develop feelings for him. That's basically what it is, isn't it?</p><p>Suki reluctantly exits the car, looking up to smile at Zuko. He grabs her hand and pulls her close suddenly, and suddenly she's sinking into his warmth. "Sorry," he mumbles against her cheek before tilting his head to kiss her. </p><p>For a kiss that isn't supposed to mean anything, it's alarmingly scarce in gentleness. His hands grip her waist tightly, one rising to cup the curve of her jaw. He kisses her with new yet familiar warmth and desperation, like he's been waiting his entire life for it.</p><p>Zuko pulls away—too late, too soon. "Sorry," he breathes, his lips brushing the tip of her nose, making her heart shoot up towards the sky. "He was watching. Through the window."</p><p>"Good job selling it," she breathes.</p><p>"I'm sorry," he says again. "We should probably set some boundaries."</p><p>"It's okay," she admits. "What you did. Whatever works."</p><p>"I'm not trying to take advantage of you—"</p><p>"You aren't."</p><p>Zuko looks at her, a lock of hair falling in front of his good eye. "Promise?"</p><p>"I promise."</p><p>Her stomach turns, her brain going a million miles an hour. <em>I promise.</em></p><p>She wonders if she is a terrible person, for what she's thinking right now. She wonders what it means, the fact that she <em>enjoyed it.</em></p><hr/><p>Sokka's waiting for her in the weapons room when she walks in to restore some of the things she took for patrol. "Hey," he says softly.</p><p>"Hey."</p><p>"I'm sorry we argued," he says suddenly. "Really. I am."</p><p>"Okay," she says, trying to keep her voice even. "Me, too, I guess."</p><p>For the first time in years, the silence between them is an awkward one.</p><p>"So," he says, his voice sounding too loud all of a sudden, "you and Zuko?"</p><p>"Yeah," Suki answers with a small laugh. "Who would've thought, right?"</p><p>Sokka's answering laugh is strained. "You'll have to tell me how that even happened."</p><p>"I will."</p><p>Sokka hovers around for a minute before sighing. "See you tomorrow?"</p><p>She looks up into his familiar blue eyes. "See you tomorrow."</p><p>He squeezes her arm as he walks past her, and she has to lean against the counter when he's gone, barely keeping her tears at bay.</p><hr/><p>Later, she doesn't go to her bedroom. She pauses for a bit in front of Zuko's door before raising her hand to knock.</p><p>He opens the door within a minute, putting a hand against the door. "Yeah?"</p><p>"Can I come in?" she asks, having to crane her neck to look into his eyes.</p><p>"Of course," he says, moving aside to let her in, shutting the door behind her. "Sokka knows?" Zuko asks, lowering his voice.</p><p>"Yeah."</p><p>He turns to look at her, illuminated only by the moonlight coming through his window. "Does that make you happy?"</p><p>Suki wraps her arms around herself. "I'm not happy about any of this. But it's good that he knows."</p><p>"Kee," he mumbles, walking forward to put his hands on her shoulders. "Suki."</p><p>"This is a lie," Suki tells him, looking up. "This is just a lie."</p><p>He leans close, the tip of his nose brushing her hair. "It's whatever you need it to be."</p><p>
  <em>It's a lie.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>(why lie?)</em>
</p><p>She looks up at him, at his lips. "Can I—" they start to say at the same time, but neither of them finish their question. They are kissing again, somehow even more deeply than they had outside. She has kissed him once before as a joke, but it's different than any other kiss she's ever had. It makes her feel like the sun is within her body, burning her from the inside out. She imagines that it would be different from Sokka's kisses, harder and hotter and brighter. That is the good thing about this, the appealing thing, the perfect difference, the perfect polar opposite. She knows Sokka would be gentle with her unless she asked for anything else, but Zuko is anything but. Suki and Zuko, they like to joke around, share childish and humorous words and ideas, but he kisses her like it's a fight, like it's the end of the world.</p><p>
  <em>(why lie?)</em>
</p><p>Suki's hand shake when she reaches for the hem of his shirt, giving her a little trouble in the process of getting it out of the way. He takes care of it for her, though, exhaling sharply when she puts her palms against his bare chest. </p><p>"Your hands," he mumbles, putting his forehead against Suki's. "They're so cold."</p><p>She opens her mouth to respond, but he kisses her answer away, his fingers clutching the hem of her shirt. "This is okay, right?" Zuko asks as Suki begins to tug him backwards towards the bed.</p><p>"It's okay," she breathes, putting a hand to the back of his head as he dips his head to kiss her neck. <em>Why lie?</em></p><p>They sink into his bed, and the rest is history.</p><hr/><p>The sun isn't quite up yet when she wakes up, completely encompassed in warmth. There's a hand on her hip, lazily drawing meaningless shapes.</p><p>Suki turns to face Zuko, causing him to put his hand on her parabatai rune. "Hi."</p><p>"Hey."</p><p>She watches him carefully. "How are you?"</p><p>Zuko laughs a little at this. "I'm great, thanks. Very good."</p><p>She laughs as well, but it's a little strained. "Good to hear."</p><p>"That—" His throat bobs, and Zuko shakes his head. "That was nice."</p><p>"I'm sensing a <em>but </em>here."</p><p>"There is," he answers, his thumb brushing the dark lines of her rune. "I don't know what this means—"</p><p>"It means we're just friends, Zuko."</p><p>"Friends who just—you know," he replies, frowning, "slept together. Friends who are pretending to date each other. I mean, the second thing is for a valid purpose, but this?"</p><p>"I shouldn't have done that without asking," Suki says quietly. "I'm sorry."</p><p>"You <em>did </em>ask. And so did I. Or—we tried to before things went out of control."</p><p>Suki looks at him before tentatively raising a hand to put it on his cheek. "I didn't hate it, you know."</p><p>"Suki—"</p><p>"It doesn't—it didn't mean anything, alright?"</p><p>Surprisingly, a smile tugs at the corner of Zuko's lips. "But we had fun, didn't we?"</p><p>She raises her eyebrows. "What are you suggesting?"</p><p>His expression turns somber again. "I'm not suggesting anything."</p><p>They lie together in silence for some time.</p><p>"What if <em>I</em> am?" Suki asks softly. </p><p>Zuko looks into her eyes. "What, that we make this a regular thing?"</p><p>Suki smiles.</p><p>He pulls her close and bends his head to kiss her. "Hmm. That's your answer."</p><p>She reaches up to tangle her fingers in his dark hair. "That's a good answer."</p><hr/><p>"What the <em>fuck </em>happened to you two?" Katara asks as she comes across Zuki and Suki sitting together at the dining table. "Did you guys take the night patrol in secret or something? How many hours of sleep did you get?"</p><p>"Not a lot," Sokka answers, then reaches forward to put his hands on Aang's ears. "They weren't on patrol but they sure weren't sleeping, I can tell you that."</p><p>"Sokka, <em>ew," </em>Suki exclaims, scooting away from Zuko, but he pulls her close to kiss her cheek. </p><p>"So what?" he asks, blushing a little. "We're <em>adults."</em></p><p>"You guys are many things," Katara says a little stiffly, pouring herself a glass of water. "But definitely not adults."</p><p>Suki glances sideways at Zuko. <em>So now they know. That part was easier than I thought it would be, right?</em></p><p>"I'm going to go train, okay?" Suki says suddenly, finishing her glass of water and standing up. "See you."</p><p>Suddenly aware of Sokka's eyes on her, she leans over to kiss Zuko's cheek, inciting a yell from Aang to not do it at the dinner table.</p><p>"Ah, the honeymoon period," Sokka mutters, staring into his cup of coffee.</p><p>Suki just rolls her eyes and heads upstairs to change. </p><p>Oddly enough, Sokka is waiting in the training room when she arrives.</p><p>"Hey," she says, swallowing. "You wanna train with me today?"</p><p>"It's really happening?" Sokka asks. "You and him?"</p><p>"Why is that so hard for you to believe?" she asks suddenly.</p><p>"It's not," Sokka replies, then shakes his head. "I thought—"</p><p>"Thought what?"</p><p>His blue eyes harden. "Nothing."</p><p>"What, that I loved you?"</p><p>He looks up, suddenly infuriated judging by the look on his face. "Why would—why would you even say that? Parabatai don't love each other that way!"</p><p>"So why are you acting like I betrayed you or something?" Suki asks.</p><p>"I'm not."</p><p>"If I knew before that it was going to happen, I would've told you," she says softly. "You know you would've been the first to know."</p><p>"I'm not entitled to every small detail of your life," he says. "I'm sorry."</p><p>"Don't apologize."</p><p>He looks up at her, and her heart races, as it always does when he looks at her like this. <em>Why you? Why did I love you? Why did we become parabatai?</em></p><p>"I'm happy for you," he says softly.</p><p>"Thank you."</p><p>"And I'm sorry I overreacted," he breathes. "I guess I was jealous."</p><p>This gives her pause, makes her rethink everything. <em>He's jealous of Zuko. Does that mean he really does love me back? </em></p><p>And for a moment, it makes her want to halt everything, to take all of the consequences and punishments and curses, because surely it would be worth it if Sokka loved her just as much as she loved him, right?</p><p>
  <em>No.</em>
</p><p>"That came out wrong," he says suddenly. "Look, it's just—it's just me being immature, okay? As parabatai, we're each other's favorite person. And I guess it was hard for me to consider that there are others."</p><p>"You've dated people before," Suki breathes. <em>You sure that's it? Are you sure that's all it is?</em></p><p>"I have," he concedes. "But I think this is different."</p><p>"Why?"</p><p>"Do you think you'll love him?" Sokka asks.</p><p>Suki shrugs. "Too early to say, isn't it?"</p><p>He laughs mournfully. "For you, maybe."</p><p>She looks up. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"</p><p>Sokka just laughs. "Have fun in paradise," he says, before giving her one last smile and walking out of the training room.</p><hr/><p>Lying is their favorite game. It always has been; at least with smaller lies. Suki and Zuko, and their small, meaningless lies. This, too, is a meaningless lie. His hand at the small of her back when they walk together, the small kisses she presses to his jaw in front of Sokka before every patrol. Lying is their favorite game, even when they both know, on some dim, unreachable level of their consciousness, that it's not entirely a game anymore.</p><p>Sometimes she wonders, lying awake in Zuko's arms at night, whether it'll ever work. Whether she'll fall out of love with Sokka, and this nightmare will end. Her parabatai rune still hurts every once in a while, but maybe<strong>—</strong></p><p>Maybe the pain isn't so bad, lately. It doesn't feel as bad anymore.</p><p>
  <em>(but how do you know?)</em>
</p><hr/><p>"This is nice," Zuko mumbles sleepily, drawing shapes on her bare stomach again one night.</p><p>"Yeah," Suki agrees, but there's something pulling at the edges of her consciousness. It seems all too normal, too comforting for something meant to be so casual, something that's meant to be only physical. But she feels so warm, physically and in her heart, with Zuko's arms around her. </p><p>
  <em>(why lie?)</em>
</p><p>
  <em>(is this real? are we?)</em>
</p><p>A million questions, but none that she wants the answer to now. Not when the truth could change everything.</p><hr/><p>She wakes up a few weeks later with such a terrifying thought, such a beautiful and liberating thought that she's tumbling out of her bed and right into Zuko's room.</p><p>"Hey," he says, sitting up in bed. "Something up?"</p><p>"I—I'm not—"</p><p>He raises an eyebrow, reaching for his shirt. "Yeah?"</p><p>"I'm not in love with Sokka anymore," she blurts.</p><p>Zuko's throat bobs. "Okay. That's good, right?"</p><p>She swallows. "I think, yeah."</p><p>"Okay," he breathes. "So do you want this to be over?"</p><p>
  <em>(why lie?)</em>
</p><p>"Do you?"</p><p>"We don't have to pretend to do this anymore," Zuko reasons, stretching. "He knows, you know. You don't love him and he probably doesn't love you. And besides, this isn't about what I want, okay? This was for you. And it was fake."</p><p>Suki closes her eyes and leans against the wall behind her. "What if I don't want it to be?"</p><p>Zuko sits up straight.</p><p>"I'm sorry," she mutters. "I shouldn't have said that—"</p><p>"I had something to tell you, too," Zuko breathes. "I didn't—I didn't want you to get the wrong impression, or—"</p><p>"Just say it," Suki sighs, keeping her eyes closed. <em>I can't do this anymore, Suki. I can't pretend to be your boyfriend anymore. I don't love you that way.</em></p><p>"I don't—I don't love Katara anymore. That way."</p><p>She opens her eyes. "What?"</p><p>"It was just a childhood crush that was going to go nowhere," he says softly. "I really loved her but—I think I moved on."</p><p>Suki exhales softly. "I'm not going to be your rebound."</p><p>"You're <em>not," </em>he hisses. "You're not. And I know I'm not either."</p><p>Finally, she gathers the courage to look him in the eyes. "I didn't think this would happen. That it would be real."</p><p>He watches her carefully, waiting.</p><p>"I <em>want </em>it to be real," she admits. "And if you don't that's okay. We can just forget about this whole conversation and everything that happened and we can still be friends and nothing has to change. Nothing has to change, Zuko."</p><p>"I want things to change," he says, getting out of bed and walking over to her. "I want it to be real, too."</p><p>"Really?"</p><p>Zuko cups Suki's face with his hands.</p><p>"Really."</p><p>
  <em>(why lie?)</em>
</p><p>She leans forward to kiss him, and like every other kiss lately, it means everything.</p><p> </p>
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